If Charles Dolan had never taken an interest in media, other business leaders and entrepreneurs would have found a way to harness the power of technology and the arts to lay the foundation for the pay television marketplace. But Dolan got there first.

The legendary founder of HBO and Cablevision, who died Dec. 28 at the age of 98, was the definition of a visionary and a pioneer. He recognized the potential of what wired TV service – in contrast to over the air broadcasts of local TV and radio stations – could bring to consumers. In the 1960s, Dolan saw the market demand for premium entertainment and sports, long before anyone ever paid a monthly cable bill.

John Malone, the Liberty Media chairman who was a peer of Dolan in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s as the CEO of cable giant Tele-Communications Inc., paid tribute to his colleague of a half-century.

“For over 50 years,...